Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. is seen on Capitol Hill in this April 17 file photo. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

(Newser)
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A powerful Senate Democrat is headed for greener pastures, according to a new report from the Washington Post. Max Baucus, the Montana moderate who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, doesn't intend to seek re-election in 2014, strategists tell the paper. Other outlets, including the AP, are now reporting the story as well.

Baucus has spent six terms in the Senate and has had an at-times contentious relationship with his party—he broke with President Obama, for example, on the recent failed gun background check legislation. Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is likely to run to replace him, the strategists said. Nate Silver reckons that if that happens, the retirement "shouldn't hurt Dems at all," and "may even help some."